Mohammad Kaif claimed Virat Kohli had his plans intact for the England series, but lacked support from the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee
Virat Kohli’s Instagram post on Monday (May 12), which garnered close to 18 million engagements in the last 48 hours, did not provide any information on why he suddenly decided to retire from Test cricket. The BCCI and its selectors, too, are numb. Hence, the announcement, which happened just days before the scheduled selection meeting for the England Test tour, sparked a plethora of speculations.
Former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif reckoned Kohli had his plans intact for the England series, which will begin on June 20, and his claim was based on Kohli’s commitment to play in the Ranji Trophy after returning from the Australia tour. However, he felt that Kohli lacked support from the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee, who expressed concerns around his recent form and questioned his place in the Test line-up.
“I think he wanted to continue in the format. There must have been some internal talks with the BCCI, the selectors may have cited his form in the past 5-6 years and told him his spot in the team may no longer be there. We will never find out what happened, it is very difficult to guess what actually took place behind the scenes.”
“But given the last minute decision, having played the Ranji trophy, I definitely think he wanted to come back in the upcoming Tests. The developments in the last few weeks, he may have not gotten the support he thought he will get from BCCI and selectors which he may not have gotten,” Kaif was quoted by NDTV.
‘Kohli looked in a hurry to score runs in Australia’
The 36-year-old did experience a dip in form in the last five years, managing just 2028 runs in 68 innings with three centuries. The struggle even saw his career average drop to 46. Kohli showed signs of a comeback in the tour of Australia, where he scored a smashing ton in the Perth opener last November, but managed just 90 runs more in the rest of the tour as India lost 1-3.
Kaif felt Kohli’s uncharacteristic approach in Australia was a sure indication that he was done with the format.
“In the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25, he looked in a hurry to score runs. You have to stay out for hours and grind in Test cricket, which he has done in the past but the constant edging of the ball moving away from him while attempting to drive, made me feel his patience was a bit less,” he added.
“Maybe he was thinking ‘I am in the last phase of my career what’s the point of scoring a gritty century, there used to be a different level of patience on display from him before, he used to leave the balls, take his time, tire the bowlers and then took them down but I did not see that from him in Australia’.”
